Page 13 of In Love with a Ranger

Gideon walked out the back door, his crutches rubbing under his arms and listening to the man as he spoke, falling in line beside him.

“Look, for the next few weeks, I’ll just need a little help around the ranch. The girls handle all of the cooking, and Jill likes it that way. They keep her company. We’ll do the hunting. There’s wood for the winter, but I think I’ll give chopping it to the next guy so you don’t have to worry about your crutch. If you can feed the horses and help tend to them that would be great. I’ll show you the barn and Chris is already handling the cows, so there’s that. You two can have the barn duties and work together.”

“Sure hope Chris doesn’t mind mucking the stalls.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Houghton agreed. “You’ll probably have to milk a cow or two, but you two can work that out.”

“Yup.”

“Now, the cabins are small, but you’ll have more privacy than you did at the barracks. There’s only one bed in your cabin, but it’s big, and you’re both adults. If it’s too much, the recliner is comfy, and heaven knows I’ve taken a nap in it a few times when I made Jill mad over the years.”

Gideon chuckled at that comment because he really couldn’t imagine the woman getting upset enough to kick her husband out of the house for long – but maybe the man left to escape her mouth? What if Jill was actually shrewish at times? Maybe that was why they had three cabins out here, he mused, staring at the surroundings with fascination. It really was gorgeous and so different from Georgia or Texas.

“And here we are,” Houghton said simply, setting down the bag. He rapped on the door, pushed it open a few inches, and hollered. “Chris… your cabin mate is here. See ya’ at breakfast tomorrow.”

Houghton saluted him – and walked off.

Quickly.

Gideon hesitated as he realized the man was practically running across the field back toward the cabin. Was Chris some ogre? Did he have an attitude or a smart mouth because he wasn’t sure that he was up to dealing with something like that. His leg hurt, his armpits were chaffed from the crutches, and all he wanted to do was collapse in the recliner Houghton mentioned.

Hearing nothing, Gideon pushed open the doorway, and his mouth dropped open at the sight of the cabin before smiling. It was almost sweet, like girly or romantic, and there were two big butch guys sharing this space? Yeah, he was going to have to lay down the law with Chris quickly if there was any inclination that…

His mind seized in his head as a woman walked out of what had to be the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her – and headphones on her head. She obviously hadn’t heard Houghton’s arrival. Piles of golden curls were casually pinned on the top of her head, but a few stragglers were cascading down her shoulders, as she hummed softly. She turned away, her eyes closed, dancing for a moment, before gliding to the left to start a cup of coffee with practiced ease, again, dancing… in a towel.

Oh man, he thought, swallowing. If this was Chris’s girlfriend, he was a dead man because he’d never seen anything quite so beautiful in his life. The woman was an angel, and all that skin glistened with water droplets that his fingers itched to wipe away so she didn’t get a chill. He wasn’t sure if he should exit and knock again – or stay where he was.

Where was Chris?

Just as he was about to excuse himself and step out, opting to knock once more, the woman turned, jumped, and snatched a knife from the block sitting on the counter, holding it aloft. He half expected her to scream, faint, or run – but instead, she stood there like some Valkyrie ready to do battle.

“GET OUT!” she snarled, her eyes flashing.

“Where’s Chris?” he replied flatly.

“I’m Chris,” she bit out, and it was almost comical as a sudden understanding hit both simultaneously. Her eyes widened as she looked at him, her mouth dropping open as her arm holding the knife aloft sagged. His own eyes widened with dawning comprehension.

Chris was Christina – and his roommate was a girl.

A woman.

A gorgeous woman, standing before him, eyes flashing, waving a knife in his direction like she wasn’t afraid to take on the entire world, and he was going to be staying here, in this small cabin, sharing this space with her for the next several months. Every word that people had uttered since he arrived echoed in his head, clicking together in almost an alarming fashion.

Happily ever after…

Prince Charming…

Fairy tales…

Your life is going to change…

Speaking the same language but saying two different things…

Cabin mates…

How good of friends is up to you…

All of them knew Chris was a Christina – and knew he would be sharing a cabin with her. This was planned from the very beginning. This was a setup, a matchmaking scheme, and he was looking at the other ‘victim’ of their shenanigans, looking just as alarmed as him.

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